My PLN plan

I consider myself a fairly techy person.  I typically know enough to get by and I know where to find answers and help in navigating new technology that I am not familiar with so I can avoid showing my weaknesses.  However, through my Developing and Growing Learning Networks courses I was introduced to ways I could use technology in my network that I had never really considered.

Upon entering the course i thought I knew about all of the latest and greatest social and learning networks available, and while I did know about many of them, I didn't know of all of the ways in which they can be used.  

I would have never considered using Twitter in my building.  Twitter has been a little intimidating to bring into the school because there is so much content there that we, as educators, can not control.  BUT...  Announcements can be made, assignments can be completed, and a professional learning network can be found!  There are numerous twitter accounts that focus on counseling, libraries, and administration within schools.  Connect with those people!  Look at their followers.  Reply to their tweets and grow your network.

RSS feeds were something I was not familiar with when I began this course.  These were probably the neatest nugget I learned about during the past 6 weeks.  Through an RSS, we can create our own feed, simplifying scrolling be weeding out the things we are not interested in, and focusing our content so that we have a streamlined way of viewing helpful information to us.

The tools and strategies I have learned about will make my educational experience greater due to the resources I now have at my fingertips that I previously wasn't aware of.  I have always enjoyed taking information I have learned and sharing it with my colleagues.  My peers are always looking to the latest and greatest ways to connect with students, parents, and other educators, and I have no doubt these tools will be something they will be greatly interested in.  This course may even lend itself to some winter professional development.